Indomitable

Has anyone yet witnessed any serious determination, as opposed to idle threat, in a non-dom client to leave the country rather than pay the Chancellor's new tax? None of mine have expressed anything more than mild irritation. I keep waiting for change of address cards, but so far nothing. No one is yet heading off to Bermuda or Monaco or anywhere else.

Yes, it's a very silly tax which is unlikely to raise much and has the potential to backfire, but I've yet to see evidence for my colleagues' panicky assertions that this will cause disaster in the City. Non-doms who have been in the UK less than 7 years aren't affected - most of our younger, professional non-dom clients are in the clear. And the long-term residents are generally too rich to care. They grumble a little, but none of them seriously wants to give up their home, their children's schooling, their place in society and their shooting weekends for the sake of £30K.

I know I should be joining the Lord Mayor et al in proclaiming that the tax is counter-productive, dangerous to the economy, and ruinous for my clients... but I just don't think it's true.